Loving It or Earning It: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

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Loving It or Earning It: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Educational Psychology · Chapter 6: Motivation, Goals, and the Drive to LearnSection 6.7 · lesson 54 of 1009 min · free with a free account

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In this lesson

The overjustification effect, and how situational interest becomes individual.

  • Explain how external events affect competence and autonomy perceptions
  • Describe the overjustification effect and when it applies
  • Distinguish informational from controlling feedback
  • Move students through the four phases of interest development

Transcript

Everything said in the video, section by section (1,078 words). Read along, or search it.

Motivation, Goals, and the Drive to Learn

Loving It or Earning It: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

A child who loves reading is put on a sticker chart for reading. Reading goes up. Then the chart is removed. And the reading stops, including the reading they used to do for fun. This section explains that result, and how to avoid producing it. We will cover cognitive evaluation theory, from Deci and Ryan. It says which external events help intrinsic motivation, and which harm it. Then the overjustification effect. Then Hidi and Renninger's four phases of interest development. That model shows how a moment of curiosity can become a lasting one. And what a teacher can and cannot do to produce that.

Cognitive Evaluation

How External Events Reach Motivation

Cognitive Evaluation Theory is part of Self-Determination Theory. It was developed by Deci and Ryan. And it accounts for how external events affect intrinsic motivation. Rewards. Deadlines. Surveillance. Feedback. The theory says two things mediate the effect. Perceptions of competence, and perceptions of autonomy. Events that increase perceived competence enhance intrinsic motivation. Positive informational feedback is the clearest example. Events that enhance perceived autonomy also support it. Providing genuine choice is the clearest example there. So an external event is not good or bad in itself. It depends on what it does to those two perceptions.

The Mechanism

Shifting the Perceived Locus

Now the other direction. Events that create a sense of external control diminish intrinsic motivation. That includes expected, tangible, contingent rewards. The mechanism is a shift in the perceived locus of causality. Before the reward, the student's internal sentence is one thing. I do this because I find it interesting. After the reward, it becomes something else. I do this to get the reward. And notice what the reward actually changed. It did not change the behavior in the short term. That usually increases. It changed the explanation the student holds for their own behavior. And the explanation is what survives once the reward stops.

Not All Rewards

Which Rewards Are Safe

This does not mean all rewards undermine motivation. Two kinds are much safer than others. Unexpected rewards do not undermine intrinsic motivation. Because they were not anticipated when the activity began. There was no bargain to shift the explanation. Verbal rewards are less harmful than tangible ones. Particularly when they are informational rather than controlling. Compare two comments. Your analysis was particularly well-organized. That is informational. You did exactly what I asked for. That is controlling. So the test is whether a reward signals competence and affirms autonomy. Or whether it functions primarily as a controlling mechanism.

Key Idea

The Overjustification Effect

Here is the key idea, and it has a name. The overjustification effect. Rewarding people for activities they already enjoy can decrease their subsequent intrinsic interest. Already enjoy is the crucial condition. This has direct implications for classroom incentive systems. Particularly for students who arrive with genuine curiosity in a subject. And it produces an uncomfortable asymmetry. The same reward system may motivate a reluctant student. While quietly damaging the motivation of an enthusiastic one. Sitting at the next desk, in the same program. Which is a problem no whole-class incentive scheme fully solves.

In Practice

The Sticker Chart That Backfired

Here is overjustification happening in a real classroom. A primary school teacher introduces a reading program. It uses sticker charts for books read. Tangible, contingent rewards, announced in advance. Initially, reading frequency increases. The program looks like a success, and by that measure it is. Then the chart is removed at the end of the term. And several students who had been avid readers stop reading voluntarily. Those are the students who were reading before the program started. The external contingency undermined a pre-existing interest. So she redesigns the program entirely. Book discussions. Reading aloud to younger students. Author visits. Activities that build intrinsic interest rather than replacing it.

Hidi And Renninger

Four Phases of Interest

Suzanne Hidi and Ann Renninger proposed a model of interest development. Four phases, bridging two very different things. Situational interest is a state, triggered by the environment. Individual interest is a stable, enduring disposition. Phase one is triggered situational interest. Some environmental feature captures the student's attention. A surprising fact. A compelling story. A relevant connection. Phase two is maintained situational interest. Engagement continues, through teacher support and meaningful tasks. And through opportunities for real involvement. Phase two is where most classroom interest quietly dies. A hook not followed by meaningful work gives you a moment, and nothing more.

Phases Three And Four

When Interest Becomes the Student's Own

Phase three is emerging individual interest. The student begins to seek out the topic independently. Nobody is prompting them. Positive affect and stored knowledge now drive the engagement. Phase four is well-developed individual interest. The student pursues the domain with sustained engagement and curiosity. With personal value attached to it. And critically, in the absence of any external prompt. Notice where the source of energy has moved across the four phases. In phases one and two, it is in the environment. By phase three, it is inside the student. That transfer is what interest development actually means.

The Teacher's Role

What You Can and Cannot Do

This model sets a realistic limit on what teaching can do. Teachers cannot directly install well-developed individual interest. It is not something that can be assigned or required. But two things are within reach. Teachers can trigger situational interest through compelling presentation. And they can maintain it. Through meaningful, relevant and appropriately challenging activities. And here is how the transfer happens. Repeatedly maintained situational interest can develop into individual interest. Repeatedly is the operative word. The mechanism is repetition rather than intensity. One extraordinary lesson does less than a term of consistently interesting ones.

The Payoff

Self-Directed Learners

Why does this matter more than the other motivational outcomes? Students who develop individual interests become self-directed learners. They continue pursuing the subject beyond the classroom. After the course ends. After the grade is recorded. It is arguably the highest motivational outcome a teacher can achieve. And there is a specific reason for that claim. It is the only result that keeps producing learning after the teacher has stopped being involved. Everything else in this chapter has a shelf life. Reward systems end. Deadlines pass. Teachers change. Individual interest is the one outcome that does not require maintenance.

Six Practices

Fostering Intrinsic Motivation

Six practices foster intrinsic motivation. Use unexpected rather than expected rewards to celebrate exceptional effort. Provide informational rather than controlling feedback. Offer genuine choice in topics and methods. Design tasks with inherent novelty and challenge. Connect content to students' existing interests. And trigger situational interest deliberately. Through provocative questions, surprising data, and real-world relevance. The first two of those are reversals of common practice. Most incentive systems run on expected, contingent rewards. And on evaluative feedback. Which is precisely the combination this theory warns about.

About Educational Psychology at UPI Study

Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) is a self-paced online course of 100 video lessons in 11 chapters, from memory, conditioning and child development to motivation, individual differences, assessment, instruction and educational technology. It carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits.

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Why students take Educational Psychology with UPI Study

How people learn, and how to teach themEducational Psychology explains how students learn, develop and stay motivated, and how teachers assess and support them. It is a standard course in education and teaching degrees and a common psychology elective.
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130,000+students helped with college creditsACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Where the credit goes

Universities that work with NCCRS

Educational Psychology carries a NCCRS credit recommendation. These universities work with NCCRS; some are UPI Study's signed partners. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.

Thomas Edison State UniversityThomas Edison State UniversitySigned partnerUniversity of the PeopleUniversity of the PeopleSigned partnerCharter Oak State CollegeCharter Oak State CollegeSigned partnerStrayer UniversityStrayer UniversitySigned partnerColumbia Southern UniversityColumbia Southern UniversitySigned partnerIndiana TechIndiana TechSigned partnerPenn StatePenn StateWorks with NCCRSSouthern New Hampshire UniversitySouthern New Hampshire UniversityWorks with NCCRSSUNYSUNYWorks with NCCRS +many more cooperating universitiesFind my college →

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FAQ

Questions students ask us

About Loving It or Earning It: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

What is cognitive evaluation theory?
Cognitive evaluation theory, part of Edward Deci and Richard Ryan's self-determination theory, explains how external events such as rewards, deadlines, surveillance and feedback affect intrinsic motivation. It says the effect depends on perceived competence and perceived autonomy. Events that raise these, like positive informational feedback or genuine choice, support intrinsic motivation, while events that feel controlling tend to weaken it.
What is the overjustification effect?
The overjustification effect is the finding that rewarding people for an activity they already enjoy can reduce their later intrinsic interest in it. Expected, tangible rewards shift the explanation from "I do this because it's interesting" to "I do this to get the reward." For example, avid readers put on a sticker chart may stop reading voluntarily once the chart is removed.
What is the difference between informational and controlling feedback?
Informational feedback tells students something about their competence, such as "Your analysis was particularly well-organized," while controlling feedback emphasizes compliance, such as "You did exactly what I asked for." Informational verbal feedback tends to support intrinsic motivation because it signals competence and affirms autonomy. Controlling feedback, like expected tangible rewards, is more likely to make students feel pressured from outside.
What are the four phases of interest development?
Suzanne Hidi and Ann Renninger described four phases: triggered situational interest, when something in the environment catches attention; maintained situational interest, sustained by meaningful tasks and teacher support; emerging individual interest, when students begin seeking out the topic on their own; and well-developed individual interest, a lasting disposition pursued without external prompts. Repeatedly maintained situational interest can grow into individual interest.

About the Educational Psychology course

How many college credits is Educational Psychology?
Educational Psychology (Psychology 120) carries a NCCRS credit recommendation for 3 semester credits. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
How much does Educational Psychology cost and what is included?
$250, paid once, with lifetime access: all 100 video lessons, a practice quiz after each, the graded work and final exam, and an official transcript when you finish. Students who want several courses choose UPI Study PRO instead.
Which universities accept UPI Study credits?
UPI Study has signed partner agreements with universities such as Thomas Edison State University, University of the People and Charter Oak State College, and works with universities such as Penn State, SNHU and SUNY. ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities. Use "Find my college" on this page to check yours.
How long does Educational Psychology take?
It is self-paced with no deadlines. The 100 lessons total about 15 hours of video; most students add reading and practice time and finish in a few weeks to a few months, on their own schedule.
How are the exams done?
Quizzes and assignments are online in the course. The final exam is taken online with proctoring; a person on the UPI Study team checks assignments, usually within two days.
How do my credits reach my college?
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100 video lessons, a quiz after each one, and the graded work that earns the credit. Recommended for credit by NCCRS.

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